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12 oz of peat smoked malt

Wildrover

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Thoughts on a recipe?  I was thinking a smoked porter but I'm not real sure.  What say you? 
 
The attached link is for an award winning smoked porter from the Popular Mechanics "10 Award Winning Home Brew Recipes" series.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/beer-recipes-how-to-home-brew-smoked-porter#slide-9
 
Go for it! I've got a couple beers, a stout and a porter, that I used some peated malt in.
They're getting about ready to taste and I'm actually getting a little nervous because I found a couple commercial smoked beers and they were over the top smokey.
I'm hoping that mine don't come out to smokey.
 
The traditional smoked malt used for rauchbier is easily over-done; I'm not sure about the peated malt designed for Scottish ales.  I personally would keep those well under a pound unless you want them to dominate. 

I've had some brews made with the newer and milder smoked malts such as cherry and oak that the big retailers carry and each was excellent. 

I think 6 to 12 oz is the right approach until you learn its impact. 
 
I use about 5oz of wood smoked malt.  My first batches were with peat smoked but I found I did not like the peatiness.  I love wood smoked character, so I went with the Weyerman beach wood smoked malt. 

I had some help with this recipe from the brewer down at Stone brewing.  http://jomebrew.doesntexist.com/jomebrew/jomebrew_10.htm
 
I just made a Robust Smoked Porter. It is at the last few days of primary. I will say this, " It was the best tasting mash I have made! "
My desire is that it translates to a great finished beer. Used Weyermann Rauch (Beech) malt, 20% of malt bill. (JZ's recommended minimum)
Stay away from peat! It will give the taste of horse blanket infused with scatological debris.
 
Well, I have 12 oz of peat malt so I'd like to get rid of it.  I used 4 oz in a Scotch 80 I made this weekend.  I know some purists won't like that but I really enjoy the subtle smoke flavor I get in those Scotch Ales that use it just a little bit of it.  Having said that, I did go low, only 4 oz in a 6 gallon batch so now I'm left with 12 oz and I'm not sure what to do.  I'm excited about trying a Smoked Porter but it seems as if the German Smoke malt is the preferred there.  Would Ppeat malt really mess up a smoked porter that bad?  maybe I should try a different style all together? 
 
You might bury it in the back yard or give it to a friend.
I like smoked porters to have more than just a hint of smoke. When you go to a higher flavor of smoke you don't want it so heavy that it lays like molasses on your tongue. This is where you will get into trouble with peat malt.
This is the kind of beer that ages well. The smoke will drop out slightly, so you need enough of it to maintain a presence.
 
If you think 4oz is subtle in a Scottish ale where there is not much else going on, then 8 to 12 oz in a roasty porter might be just right for your taste buds.  It's your beer, so you get to make the call and if you do use less than 12oz .........."bury any leftovers in the back yard."  Classic.......
 
Well, the Scotch 80 I made was JZ's so there is actually quite a bit to the malt bill, some Munich, honey malt, crystal malt I think even a touch of chocolate if I remember off the top of head.  Having said that, the smoke smell was pronounced so I was wondering if added too much?  Well see, I did want it subtle though, To my palate, any kind of smoke, racuh, peat or something else, is can really hurt a beer when too much is added.  I think it support the rest of the beer, not be the main or key focus of it.  Not distracting in other words. 

I noticed that Stone's Smoked Porter uses Peat malt 2.5% or just about 5 oz for a five gallon batch.  I've never had that beer so I'm not real sure how pronounced that smoke flavor/aroma actually is but I figured I'd model my smoked porter after theirs since the beers of their that I have had seem to be pretty good.  I'll defer to their better judgement in other words. 
 
To be honest, peat is found in someone's back yard so you are essentially returning it to wench it came!!!

If I could clone any of Stone's beers............just a fantasy!

If your making a Smoked Porter, than smoke flavor IS a major portion of the beer balanced with the chocolate & crystal malts.
6 lbs. Rauch malt for 13.5 gal. batch size. Should be tasting it by next weekend.. will advise then.... I hope it doesn't raise my toe hair!
 
I made a smoke Amber one time and you could only buy the malt in 1 lb bags so I just put it all in. It was a little "too" smoky for my taste, but I do have to say, don't judge your smoke flavor until after about 3 months of aging.  It will mellow some with time and all of your flavors will mix and everything will taste better together.
 
RiverBrewer said:
If your making a Smoked Porter, than smoke flavor IS a major portion of the beer balanced with the chocolate & crystal malts.
6 lbs. Rauch malt for 13.5 gal. batch size. Should be tasting it by next weekend.. will advise then.... I hope it doesn't raise my toe hair!

Finally got to taste this batch. The smoke is present, but not at all overbearing. I used the Crisp dark chocolate malt & Crisp dark crystal. Very good tasty beer fresh. FG was 1.019, but there is no sweetness. Will be bottling 5 gallons to age.
 
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